Infectious Joy
A Reason To Smile
It is cold and stormy across most of the nation, including life-threatening conditions in some areas. Please be safe and take care. Our thoughts turn to those most in need, for whom severe weather takes an usually vicious toll.
But amid struggle, we can always look for hope, warmth, and a reason to smile. And when we came across this holiday story, we felt it would be wonderful to share with the Steady community.
Let us set the stage: It starts with what has become one of the most beloved Christmas songs of all time, pop star Mariah Carey’s 1994 hit “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” It has seen a recent resurgence and now regularly tops the charts this time of year. It’s currently number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the 10th consecutive week, making Carey only the third artist and first woman to have three different songs top the charts for double-digit weeks.
“All I Want For Christmas Is You” has become iconic, with many considering its annual renewal the unofficial kickoff to the holiday season. New Yorker music critic Sasha Frere-Jones dubbed it “one of the few worthy modern additions to the holiday canon.” Every year social media is awash with people offering their own performances and memes. But one in particular caught our eye and the eyes of countless more. It has gone viral for the best possible reasons. Perhaps you have seen it already.
It began with this tweet from Jennifer White-Johnson of her fourth grade son, Kevin Johnson III — known as Knox — singing in his school’s winter concert. Knox is autistic, and to see the pure happiness that flows forth as he belts out Mariah Carey’s classic is about as perfect an encapsulation of the hope of the season as you are likely to find.
“To see him be so unbridled and to have this unlimited amount of joy was incredible,” his mother told The Washington Post. “I kept telling him to think of something happy when he’s singing, and that’s exactly what he did. He just thought of something joyful, and whatever that was, it just took him to heights.”
Theresa Vargas, writing in the Post, also honed in on another moment in the video.
“Knox was given a solo in the winter concert. The video shows him performing it with vigor. But it also shows him start to sing during another student’s solo. In that moment, music teacher Ryan Stewart can be seen gently patting the fourth-grader’s shoulder and offering him a quiet reminder. In response, Knox stops singing and gestures to his classmate, directing the focus to her. Many people who saw the video were struck by the gentleness of that redirection.”
Knox’s mother added, “We’re just so thankful that the school allows him to be completely and authentically autistic, because he wouldn’t be successful otherwise.”
A big Steady kudos to Knox, and to all who made this possible.
The performance did garner the attention of Carey herself, who tweeted back. “Your kid IS everything!!!!!! Knox, you made my day. Your JOY gives me and everyone watching JOY. THANK YOU for reminding me why I wake up in the morning and do what I do. I love you” (plus five heart emojis)
In a follow-up article in Billboard magazine, White-Johnson said that her son’s response was, “She loves me? She loves me? And she doesn’t even know me!”
Carey offered front row tickets to her holiday concert in New York but realized that it might be too late or too loud for Knox. “The fact that she was so caring in paying attention to the fact that he’s autistic and that he would need accommodations? It’s last minute for us and we probably can’t make it, but I love the fact that she invited us,” White-Johnson told Billboard.
Amid all the cynicism, commercialism, and divisiveness we see in abundance, isn’t this a genuine reason to smile?
And for all who want to listen to Mariah’s version, here is the original music video (with its 748 million YouTube views!!!)
This is the kind of joy we need in this tumultuous time.
Merry Christmas and all the best for 2023 to you, Dan, you family, those you work with, all of your Steady readers (and Happy Hanukkah, Blessed Kwanzaa etc. for those who may observe the other holidays). And for those who do not observe - one foot in front of the other, That is how we get through.
Thank you, Mr. Rather, for a beautiful distraction on a day when many people are "weathered out." And while Knox has us mesmerized with his sweetness and energy, what truly overwhelmed me was the beauty in the diversity of the chorus and the obvious joyful devotion of the teacher, who so gently shepherded the kids through that song. ALL the parents should be SO proud! This is the kind of exalted creativity that humans are capable of, and that we so rarely see in contemporary life.
What a gift of spirit this holiday!